Personal Training Q&A
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- What is better to do first: cardio or resistance training?
- I'm trying to lose weight - how quickly should I eat after I'm done with my workout?
- Help! My pool opened yesterday and I need fast results! How can I get in pool shape fast?
- What is the best exercise for the back?
- Elliptical, treadmill, or actual track -- any one better than the other? Is a warm-up and cool down good to do? I've read in Men's Health neither is really necessary when exercising.
- I work out at the Concord ZX Fitness. I spend about an hour to an hour and one half in the gym each day. I like to work two muscle groups a day. What is the best split to get the maximum results? My goal is to gain as much muscle mass as possible!
- How can I flatten my stomach?
Q: What is better to do first: cardio or resistance training?
Patty in Matthews, NC
A: A lot of theories exist in different health and fitness magazines but that’s all they are: theories. There is no proven benefit to doing either cardio or weights first. You should complete your workout in whatever order that allows you to do it all!
Laura at ZX Fitness - Matthews
Q: I’m trying to lose weight – how quickly should I eat after I’m done with my workout?
Lauren in Charlotte, NC
A: Your muscles and your body need fuel ideally within 15 minutes of working out. The post-workout meal should contain carbohydrates and protein to help optimal gain and recovery!
Titan at ZX Fitness – Steele Creek
Q: Help! My pool opened yesterday and I need fast results! How can I get in pool shape fast?
Rachel in Charlotte, NC
A: Rachel, fast is not always effective! I know you want to see results quickly but you run the risk of everything you lost coming back and then some! Losing weight quickly is not the safest or most effective way. If you love weight too quickly (such as more than 2 lbs per week) it will fight you –you’ll get overly hungry or even sick.
My advice is to make two goals per week: to make an exercise goal and a nutritional goal each week to ensure a healthy lifestyle change. Good luck Rachel!
Laura at ZX Fitness - Matthews
Q: What is the best exercise for the back?
From Joy C.
A: Joy, That is a great question and not an easy one to answer. When it comes to working the back, many things must be considered. One major thing is which part of the back are you looking to improve? And secondly, are you able to effectively work the muscle correctly, what I call muscle awareness.
When I train back, I think about how an exercise will effect the part I am doing. Think about your spine and how it goes down the body. Majority of exercises will occur around the thoracic vertebrae region. The most common exercises most people do are Lat Pulldowns, for the latisimus dorsi or lat for short, and a variation of a Row. A variation of a Lat Pulldown (pulling down in front toward the chest as opposed to behind the head) and a Pull-Up are great not just for developing the lat but also smaller muscles in the back, arms and shoulders. A variation of a Row will target different parts of the back. Depending on the exercise, you will work the lat or rhomboid with some emphasis on the upper back, arms and rear shoulders.
The lumbar vertebrae, is the region most people have back problems. Hyper Extensions/Back Extensions are great for the lower back or the erector spine, also commonly referred to as part of the core.
If done correctly, a Deadlift is one of the best overall exercises. It will work everything! You will engage upper and lower back muscles.
However, it's also one of the hardest exercises to execute because so many working parts are involved. If you are unsure about this exercise, I would certainly ask a professional for help.
As I mentioned before, muscle awareness is critical. More often than not, people tend to pull with their arms. As a result, it takes away from the back working. So it stands to reason, even if I could say there was one best back exercise, if you do it wrong, it would not matter. Doing an exercise wrong will not only hinder that muscle from getting stronger but also increase your body's probability for injury.
I believe when a person trains, they must have a strong connection between their body and mind. I sometimes come across people that just work out to work out and don't realize 1) they are doing the exercise wrong and 2) they are utilizing the wrong muscles. Everyone in the gym has a purpose and a goal, so what good is it to just do an exercise? When I first started working out, I used to use the wrong muscles. I would always get a great pump in my arms after doing chest and back. It took me awhile to figure out my mistakes. Accentuating the body part I am working and understanding how my body is effected each repetition has helped me develop some of the areas I had trouble with. I'll admit, I tell people to isolate the body part during an exercise, the truth of the matter is you can not isolate any body part. Your body is a fine piece of machinery, requiring cohesion during any movement. Always identify each rep with how well that targeted muscle is working. If you are unsure, always feel free to consult a personal trainer.
When it comes to training, I firmly believe your body and mind share the work load. I hope this helps in your work outs and happy training!
Q: Elliptical, treadmill, or actual track -- any one better than the other? Is a warm-up and cool down good to do? I've read in Men's Health neither is really necessary when exercising.
Richard in Durham, NC.
A: Hi Richard, Some where along the way, people started to believe it was the best way to lose weight and shed body fat. Although, it does help to serve this function, it is not its true purpose.
When it comes to doing cardio, you are focusing on strengthening the heart. If you were to look it up, it's literal translation is to affect the heart and the blood vessels. Cardiovascular exercise is a temporary increase in the heart rate and helps to prevent/reduce heart risk and problems to your heart.
As for the best way to approach cardio exercise, that will depend on one's physical ability. If we are talking about which will cause the less damage or less impact to one's joints, then that would be the elliptical, with jogging being the worst. It is widely believed that as healthy as running is, that running over an extended amount of time can cause more harm than good (such as running a marathon). There are many problems that occur from over running but the most common physical one is knee problems. Remember, the purpose is to get the heart rate elevated and that can be done through different avenues: speed, incline, or resistance. But when it comes to which exercise is best, I leave that to what a person enjoys, or can tolerate the most when trying to perform increasing the heart rate in a safe manner.
Warming up is also important. It's a way for your body to warm-up. Some people will try to stretch as a means to warm-up and that is one of the best ways to hurt yourself. The body isn't ready for the intensity of forcing the muscles to elongate before its properly ready. Muscle strains and pulls are often the result of stretching before the body is ready. A warm-up is not supposed to be an intense form of exercise, just suitable enough for the body to be ready for what you are preparing to put the body through. Five to 10 minutes is usually adequate enough. Best advice...always listen to what your body is telling you!
I hope this helps in your workouts!
Good luck in your journey to improve your health and happiness!
Q: I work out at the Concord ZX Fitness. I spend about an hour to an hour and one half in the gym each day. I like to work two muscle groups a day. What is the best split to get the maximum results? My goal is to gain as much muscle mass as possible!
Darrell in Concord
A: There are many factors that go into trying to add muscle mass. When it comes to your workout, that involves pushing yourself during your strength training routine. Most people will increase weight while targeting 6-8 reps, with muscle failure being the primary goal at that point. Your body doesn't actually grow during the workout, it grows after. The feeling you get during a workout is commonly referred to as "the pump." Blood simply fills the muscle. The thing about "the pump" is that it is a temporary feeling. That's where rest and nutrition come in. They work together to build muscle after your strength training.
Put it to you this way, there is 168 hours in a week, what do you spend most of your time on? If you focus on strength training for 1-1.5 hours/day and did that over a 7 day span, that would be 7-10.5 hours of working out. That leaves 161-157.5 hours left unaccounted for in the week.
What are you doing with the rest of your time? After a strength training workout, your body requires food to rebuild the damage muscle and help to build new muscle.
If you are doing too much cardio, that can offset your ability to build mass. Cardio serves no value to building mass. I, myself, do very little cardio and focus more on strength training, rest and nutrition. That is not to say cardio is not important because it is. However, the question is are you doing too much cardio?
Every person is different. Some people are what we call hard gainers, meaning it's harder to put on the size they would like to gain. Typically, those are people with fast metabolisms. If you are one of those, it can can be pretty frustrating when you see a friend or fellow gym member put on size relatively faster and easier than you are. A great example is the world class Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps. He is supposed to have 12,000 calories in a day! Most bodybuilders don't even consume that much! His body requires that many calories because his work outs are so intense that when he's not working out, his body is constantly burning calories when he's at rest. And he has a long lean frame! If he didn't eat, he wouldn't be at that world class level. Michael Phelps mainly eats to perform.
I hope this answers your question. In order to change your physical appearance, you need to take a good look at your lifestyle. What, if anything, needs tweaking?
Continue to work hard and listen to your body. Good things will come! Happy training!
Q: How can I flatten my stomach?
La-Shunda in Greenville, SC
A: This is one of the most frequently asked and the thing that frustrates most people when it comes to working out. How to flatten my stomach?
Although, exercising is very important because it will help to shape and mold your body, it can not do so without the proper nutrition. Diet has a negative connotation so I always talk about eating as a lifestyle change.
What you eat, when you eat it and portion sizes are all prevalent. With that said, one wants to have a healthy balance of carbs, proteins and fats. Starving yourself is not the answer to slimming down. You might lose weight but how much of the weight you lose is muscle? And muscle is what gives the body an aesthetic look. Muscle requires food for its nutrients and without the proper nutrients you lose muscle.
You can actually have a very strong core (the major muscles I am referring to are the abdominal, all the way around to the lower back) and still not have a flat stomach.
Having an efficient metabolism is the key. Utilizing the nutrients you put into your body to not only maintain muscle but build new muscle is your goal. When you achieve that, you will find your body is working with you, instead of against you.
Another very important point is that we tend to be our worst critic.
That's where having some form of method to track our progress is important. Have your body fat taken every 6 weeks or your body measurements. Trying to eyeball your results is difficult because you see yourself everyday and the changes are slow and gradual. Personally, I always recommend pictures. You are able to see what areas are improving and see what areas you would like to work on a little more. You can go back and actually see your body's transformation!
Remember, your body is an evolving organism. At no time does it stay constant. That's the neat thing about it but also the frustrating thing.
You have the ability to change it but as you see results you have to also change more of your lifestyle to get to your goals. What worked for you before will get old and your body will acclimate to it. As your body evolves, so must your lifestyle.
I hope this helps to aid you in your fitness goals!
Q: I work-out with a trainer twice a week and also do the gym at least 4 times a week. This incl. going after the trainer. But I don't seem to be toning or losing any weight. But my clothes seem to be the same. What am i doing wrong or should I be doing differently.
Glenda at Steele Creek
A: Hi Glenda,Thank you for your question!
First off, let me ask you how long have you been working out? If you saw progress in the beginning, have you hit a plateau? Like anything else, your body acclimates to what it is doing and is constantly evolving.
That's why you need to try and stay one step ahead. And I don't believe a plateau is necessarily a bad thing, it's just your body's way of telling you, a change is needed. The body is very complex and it is always evolving, trying to stay ahead of it can be tricky. Since I am unfamiliar with you and what you are doing, it is hard for me to say what might be wrong or what you should try differently. However, I will go over some things that you may not realize and hopefully, it will point you in the right direction.
Making a lifestyle change is always a difficult thing to do. And working out, is just part of the equation. Just like your training routines change to become more challenging due to your progress, so must other aspects of your lifestyle. It is not nearly enough to just work out.
Proper nutrition and getting plenty of rest are essential for your body.
Regardless of how long or hard you work out, if you aren't focusing your time and energy to those other areas, how do you expect to see changes?
I'll be honest, the toughest thing to change for people is the nutrition aspect. It is more expensive and is less convenient to eat healthy. By eating healthy, I am referring to portion size, what you are eating and when you are eating it. I call this plan eating with purpose or "Strategically Eating." More often than not, when a client isn't seeing results, it is a byproduct of not eating healthy. If you do not know how many calories you are consuming, I recommend doing a food journal. This will help keep you focused and honest with yourself. If you need help, ask your personal trainer how to set up your food journal.
Cardiovascular exercise is very important. However, too much cardio is not necessarily a good thing. What people don't realize is that too much cardio actually can have an adverse effect on muscle retention and burn it. At some point, cardiovascular exercise took on the role of burning fat but where in the word cardiovascular does the meaning translate into burning fat? Cardiovascular pertains to the heart and blood vessels. The more you increase your heart rate, the more calories you will burn during that exercise session. However, you stop burning calories once you are done with your cardio session and your heart rate returns back to its resting heart rate. Strength training on the other hand, may not burn as many calories during the workout session but burns more calories because the muscles are recovering and rebuilding after the exercise. That can take 48-72 hours for the muscle(s) to recover. After that, it's about taking care of the body and feeding it the proper foods. It's a cycle.
Remember, a personal trainer is a great tool to help you reach your goals.
I like to think of myself as a compass, I will help guide and point you in the direction you want to go. Ultimately, it is up to you to take the knowledge and apply it yourself so you can move toward a healthier, happier and fitter you.
I hope this helps you on your way to reaching the goals you set for yourself. Good luck moving forward and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Keep working hard and thinking healthy!
